Chapter 8
Happy Birthday Jack
July the fifteenth seemed to pop out of no where for Riddick. He'd almost forgotten it was Jack's birthday that is until he saw her walking out of her room rubbing her eyes. He watched her stumble and bounce off the walls of the hall as she walked toward him, which did amuse him somewhat.
"You gonna be alright there kid?" He called from his seat on the couch.
Jack snapped into reality once her brain was able to properly process Riddick's question. She yawned as she spoke, "Yeahhhhh, I'm good."
Riddick grinned as Jack stood half way across the room from him and stretched. Apparently she hadn't taken the time to look in the mirror before she ventured out into the living room. Her hair was all over her head and overly large night shirt was only half tucked into her pajama pants. Riddick was pretty sure she hadn't actually worn the pants during the night but he didn't like to dwell on the thought of what she slept in. She was, after all, still just a kid in his eyes.
"So, what are you going to do today, kid?" He asked, not really wanting to remind her that it was her eighteenth birthday if she didn't realize it.
Jack walked the rest of the way across the house and plopped down on the couch beside him. She rubbed her eyes and yawned again. "I da—da—don't know. I guess I'm going to just stay here like I usually do while you go out."
Riddick nodded.
It actually made him feel bad that she had to stay in the house all of the time. He hadn't ever thought about the fact that this may bother her, that is, not until now. It wasn't like he was going out and having fun. He killed people for a living. Okay, maybe it was fun to him, but he was sure Jack wouldn't find entertainment in that. And this reminded him; he still had to take care of that Kent J. Rockwood… Damn.
"No, kid, I think you should go out. Just go and do something, I don't know what, just something to get you out of here." He said, trying not to make it sound like he didn't want her there.
Jack focused her eyes on the black lenses of Riddick's goggles and wished she could, just one time, see through them and look into his eyes in the daylight. She wondered why he was telling her this. It was unlike him to stick around for so long after he knew she was awake. At times she had wondered if it was her he was trying to escape. She knew he had to go out and make money but she wanted to spend more time with him.
It all started after she turned seventeen. Since then he had been staying away more. She didn't really know what sparked that change but decided against saying anything about it. She knew it was probably something he didn't want to tell her anyway so she saved her self the trouble of getting angry with him.
The fact that he was always so secretive with her drove her crazy. 'What's he got to hide?' she would ask herself after asking him what he had been doing and he either refused to tell her or just ignored her completely.
"And what do you suggest I go out and do? It's not like I have any friends or even any money to do anything with." Jack answered.
He sighed; he knew she would say something about not having any friends. "Well," He reached into the right front pocket of his black jeans and pulled out a rectangular piece of plastic, "take this."
Jack took the piece of plastic from Riddick's outstretched hand and rolled it over in hers. Her eyes widened as she read the front of the card. It was a type of credit card, but it was a prepaid card. (This meant that Riddick had already put money on it so she could only spend what it held and no more.)
She wasn't used to getting money from him so she was pretty surprised. Normally, he would just pick up whatever it was that she needed or wanted, as long as he didn't think it was something that she shouldn't have.
"Wh—what's this?" She questioned still eyeing the card in her small hand.
Riddick chuckled. "You are a woman; you should know money when you see it, kid."
'Yeah, I'm a woman, that's why you still call me kid. That makes sense.' Jack thought.
"Yeah, Riddick, I got that part, but what's it for? I mean, why? What…" She was really at a loss for words for some reason or another.
"It's for you to spend." He always did have a knack for pointing out the obvious.
Jack huffed. "I know that. But. Why. Did. You. Give. It. To. Me?" She decided to annunciate every word of her sentence so he may understand her point.
Riddick quirked an eye brow at the fact that Jack sounded out every word to him. It made him feel a bit like a child when she did this. "Because. I. Thought. You. May. Want. To. Buy. Some. Shit. For. Yourself."
He loved it when he could just turn things around on her, and she wasn't expecting it.
Jack groaned and stood up. "Thanks."
She wasn't ready for his games, not this soon after waking up. She was thankful that he'd been so thoughtful but why did he have to play games? She was sure he knew exactly what she was asking, the first time, but he just wanted to play with her head.
But she still wasn't sure why he'd given her money. It wasn't like him to just go and give her things like this. Normally she'd have to ask him to take her to get clothes, or whatever else she needed. That, in truth, was a bit embarrassing at times, she didn't want him to have to go with her to get her 'feminine' items all of the time, but he didn't like to let her go out alone. She'd even made herself wear sports bras because she didn't like for Riddick to see the normal type ones, when she needed them. Any other girl, Jack thought, wouldn't care, but she did. For one reason or another, she didn't like for Riddick to know she wore things like that. It just seemed odd, to her.
But then again, she'd recently discovered he didn't wear underwear at all, so she guessed it was much the same. What if he didn't think she wore any? No, she was almost positive he didn't think about things like that, not about her. After all, he'd never showed any type of interest in her, not that kind anyway.
Riddick didn't take notice of the time it took Jack to get ready and leave. He was really interested in the news paper in his hands when she decided to leave. All he heard was something along the lines of 'Going blah blah blah. Back blah blah. Later blah blah blah.'
He waved his hand behind his head, letting her know, or think he'd heard her words. He didn't even notice the slamming of the door, until some pots and pans fell in the kitchen.
"Fuck." He murmured to himself upon hearing the clatter of the pans.
He'd planned out her birthday the night before and wanted her out of the house for once. He thought, this time, she deserved to go out and not have to be escorted by him. She was eighteen after all, legal to any thing she wanted to do and not have him with her. She was, as far as society is concerned, an adult and didn't need him looming over her all the time.
He didn't bother picking up the fallen pots and pans on his way out of the house; he was more concerned with his plans.
Riddick's POV
I can't believe I am this old and I'm still doing shit like this for the kid. But I do this every year, so I don't need to disappoint her this time. Maybe next year I'll lay off. I don't see why birthdays are so damned important anyway. You just get another year older, and lose a year of your life. It's nothing special.
I've decided to take Jack out for the night. She's always bitching about staying at home alone, so I guess this will be nice for her.
I made the reservations for that fancy restaurant before she woke up, we go at seven. So, now I'm browsing through some chick store looking for something for her to wear. I'm really not seeing anything here…
"Excuse me, sir; is there something you need help with?"
I turned around to see an attractive brunette standing behind me with a name tag on. I guess she works here. Why would she want to help me? Do I look like I need her fucking help? I can find a… something… for myself. No, not for me, for Jack.
Shaking my head I said, "I'm looking for a dress. Not for me, it's for my… She's… well… it's for a friend."
'Great cover Dickey.'
The woman giggled slightly. She thinks I'm sick.
"Well, I'm sure I can help you find what you're looking for, if you'll just tell me what kind of occasion we're dressing for and what her size is." She answered after laughing.
I gave her a shrug, "I don't really know her size, but its dinner, you know, at that fancy place just off of Commerce Avenue."
Again, the woman laughed. "Well, sir, I won't be much help if we don't know what size the young woman will wear."
I suppose she's right. But I have to find something for Jack to wear; I know she's not going to buy anything today that will be nice enough for tonight. She's always had a knack for buying more… casual clothes, can't say as I blame her.
"You see that girl, there," I pointed at a woman browsing a few racks away.
The woman followed my finger and nodded.
"My girl has shoulders like those. Small built but prominent." I continued.
'My girl? What the fuck where'd that come from?'
"Okay." The woman answered.
I looked around at a few more people. No, she's too tall. No, too fat. No, too manly… "Ah, and that one." I pointed at a woman who is Jack's height. "Jack, my… the girl, she's that woman's height."
Another nod.
"And that one over there," a woman near the cash registers, "she's built just like Jack. Well, Jack's got bigger… Her… She's…"
The woman said what I was struggling with, "Your female's bust is larger?"
This time, I nodded. I hadn't ever felt like such a pervert. What the hell was I doing looking at Jack's tits? I'm a dirty old man.
Finally, after looking at probably fifty dresses, I settled on, what I'm told is, a light yellow one. It's one of those that goes up around the chick's neck but doesn't have straps on the shoulders. And it's a little tight down to her hips but touches the floor.
I didn't like the fact that it was tight, but all of them were. I guess this is the way the fashion has gone. Everything women wear is so fucking tight. Take this broad, she's got on some pants that I'm sure are painted on, and her shirt… its one of those that has a v-neck and shows her tits. I'd kill Jack for dressing like that. Do women not realize that men, when they see that, automatically think about taking the clothes off? Come on, even a chick isn't that stupid. But maybe that's why the do it. I don't know. But like I said, I'll kill Jack if she dresses like that. I don't want to have the same thoughts about her as I'm currently having about this woman. She's fuck-able, really, and the clothes, damn.
Okay, I have to get my mind out of the gutter…
Apparently, Jack is a size six. I'll remember that… Okay, maybe not.
I had to buy shoes as well. But those were easy. I got some that are, I'm told, clear. The woman said they would look nice with the dress, so I'm sure they will. She was a great help, but for some reason, I couldn't take my mind off fucking her long enough to pay much attention to her words…
Now, I've got to find something for myself. I hadn't thought about that until the woman who helped me with Jack's dress suggested it. This is going to be hard. I don't wear this fancy, nancy-boy shit. Ugh. I'm beginning to think this wasn't such a great idea.
By the time I left and got back home, I'd been gone three hours and spent close to a thousand dollars. I would never have been caught dead in a dress store. Jack better appreciate this. I used to be a hard ass, someone you didn't want to fuck with. Now, I've reduced myself to being a bitch. I went shopping. My God, or well, your God... I bought myself a suit. I've made reservations in a fancy restaurant and I'm going there. Oh fuck.
End Riddick's POV
Once Riddick was home, he took Jack's dress and shoes into her room, against his better judgment, and put them in her closet. He didn't want to leave them out in the open because it would have been more of a surprise for her to find them later. He really didn't like the fact that he had to dress up as well, but after buying the 'damn' suit, he knew there wasn't any turning back now. He took his suit and tossed it down on his bed before deciding he needed to take a shower.
Riddick was still in the process of taking his shower when Jack stumbled blindly into the house. Her arms were full of shopping bags and she wondered how it was that she made it home in one piece. She felt her way through the house to her room by bouncing off the walls with her elbows and dropped her bags on her bed.
"Shit." She sighed as she stretched her aching arms.
Jack took her time sorting through her new things. She'd bought at least twelve new shirts, six pairs of jeans, new socks, underwear, and a number of other random things such as a few new movies and an MP3 player. She wasn't in any hurry to put them away because she just had to try them on again, before she made the choice to keep them. Most of the shirts, she knew, Riddick wouldn't like because they were tank tops. She opted to wear tanks most of the time because it was so damned hot on the planet they currently inhabited, but how long that would last, she didn't know.
When she'd finally decided to put her things away, Riddick was finally out of the shower. She assumed he was shaving or doing some other post shower ritual because she had heard the water turn off but hadn't heard him leave the bathroom. She walked across her room to her closet with her arms loaded down with her new clothes and swung the closet door open.
This was the exact moment when Riddick heard a high pitched scream coming from Jack's room. Without thinking he pulled on his goggles, ran out of the bathroom and burst through Jack's bedroom door, in his towel.
"Jack! What's wrong?" He yelled as soon as his feet hit the soft carpet in her room.
Jack didn't look at him immediately. In truth, there wasn't anything wrong with her, she'd just discovered her new dress and was taken aback, that was what caused her to scream.
Riddick, noticing Jack wasn't in pain or threatened by death, sighed heavily. "So, you like it?"
Again, Jack didn't answer, instead she almost flew across the room and threw herself into Riddick's arms.
Riddick was a bit shocked by Jack's display of affection but he had to admit, it made him feel good. He wasn't used to seeing her like this. He hardly ever touched her anymore and in his mind, it felt good to be hugging her.
He smiled to himself as he squeezed Jack's small body and let a low rumbling whisper escape his lips, "Happy birthday, Jack."
A/N: Ok, I know it took me for hell and ever to update, and I apologize. I do hope you all liked this one. Let me know your thoughts, what you like and what you don't, please. Sway
